Koss
TD-80 Stereo
Headphones

Product Description

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
reviewer007
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: October 29, 2004

Bottom Line:

Well,, it's always good to have an objective point of view, if only for the benefit of the readers of these reviews,, so I am going to add my review and opinions of the TD/80's,, which somewhat goes against what the others say about them..

I first bought Koss headphones about 7 years ago (can't rmemeber which model) but only because I couldn't find any of my then favourite Technics phones. I was really impressed with them but after about 3 years of service, I accidentally sat on them and ended their life prematurely. I had to have another pair of Koss so I wound up buying the TD/80's and I picked up right where I left off - with a big smile on my face. I loved them then and I still love them now (Oct 2004)..
Until that point, I had owned and used Sony, Digitor, Technics, Sanyo, and a handful of other brands and the Koss phones I had back then, ate them all alive.. The TD/80's seemed to be even better.. Since then, I have owned (still DO own) Koss R-200's and Sennheiser TD590's and although I can't honestly say that the TD/80's can compete against these, as an "all-round" headphone, I can and will say that the bass response in the TD/80's will still eat these 2 alive. They produce the deepest, richest low end bass that I have ever heard from any heaphones,, with NO exceptions.. It is not boomie bass either. It is nice rumbling bass...

Well that was the good news. There is also some not so good news. It isn't that bad though, just annoyances. The TD/80's can be a bit hard to wear for more than a couple of hours without at least taking them off for a few seconds to adjust their position on your ears and let the blood back into your ear lugs too. They also tend to beat up your eardrums as you turn up the volume. They emit loud thumpy pockets of air movement from the cones to your eardrums, and this my start to hurt after prolonged mid to high volume use. It has the same effect as standing too close to a bass speaker at a rock concert. You can actually feel the air movement.. Mid to high range frequency response seemed to be pretty good until you use the high end Sennheiser and Koss models, then you put the TD/80's back on. You then realise how much more bass you had but also how much of the rest of the audio spectrum you missed out on too. It is a matter of taking the good with the bad.. Worst of all was the flimsy plastic film around the earpieces which tore easily and had to be replaced under the Koss lifetime warranty - which they honoured without question. They also fixed the drooping earpiece which started slipping a few months after I bought them. The adjusters simply wore away and allowed each earpiece to slip right down...

The TD/80 heaphones are now out of date but I would grab another pair of I could find them as they are cheap but not nasty. They are NOT perfect,, just GOOD..

This are the harshest headphones I have ever listened to: and this is a not so loud levels. The phones are fairly detailed and the bass is controlled and not boomy, but if you have a bright source, these phones are unsafe. Video use is about the only thing I would consider using these.

IF you are use to Sennheisers with detailed nice music, you will HATE these, but for $50 for a backup phones...they are the best RUGGED phone for under $5O ..but that doesn't say much! Get a pair of SONY MDR-V6 if you want a professional phone for about $20 more...they are bright too!

I tried these out because I have gone through 4 fine pairs of phones in the last 5 years/....AKG 280s Sennheisser 545s Sony MDR-V6, Sennheisser RS-6 wireless.

I picked up these headphones so I could do a little late night gaming on the pc without disturbing everyone in the house. I was surprised by the bass, it's like having a little subwoofer on each ear. These stereophones go lower than any multimedia sub on the market. The mids are good, and the highs are rolled off and non fatiguing. Onto the bad, like the other reviewer said the metal headband is very tight, though I solved the problem by bending it. The earcups on these closed cans are too small and pinch my upper ear. They're painful to wear for long sessions. There are no loudness indicators on the volume dials so getting the perfect balance is a hit and miss affair. Overall a good buy, but I would have spent a little extra on the much better Grado SR60's if I'd heard of them at the time of buying these.

This pair of Koss headphones produce some great sound. With movies, dialogue is crisp and clear and the bass is booming. I was surprised how good they sounded considering that they weren't that expensive. With music, once again bass is very deep, and treble is clear and crisp. This is a great pair of headphones if you are looking to save some money. The only problems that I have with it are that they are very tight fitting on my head, the cord is way too short (4 ft), and the volume controls for the left and right ear have no db indicators on them so it's a guessing game for getting them to sync up.